NYC Shoot-a-Thon

On March. 24th & March 25th, NYC Shoot-a-Thon (Shootathon) will return to NYC. For those of you that are familiar with Shootathon, welcome back. For those of you who are not familiar with it, this is an opportunity for you to attend a very unique event that is a collaboration of photographers, videographers, models, fashion designers and makeup artists. This is a two day event that provides everyone an opportunity to update their portfolios, and practice their crafts. The event was created by William “Mr. Don” Pittman. His vision allowed him to bring one of his dreams to fruition.

Mr. Don is a Professional Photographer and a professional Hair Stylist. Mr. Don had a vision several years ago. He wanted to bring multiple facets of the fashion industry together under one roof. He also wanted to make it affordable for all to attend. Three years ago at The Loft in Brooklyn located at 172 Classon Avenue, Mr. Don’s vision came to life. Since it’s inception, hundreds of people have participated in Shootathon. Some people attend for the camaraderie, others attend to update or create a new portfolio. Others attend simply to network, and to have a good time.

For a very reasonable fee to attend both days, models, actors and actresses, makeup artists and fashion designers (Clients) are able to take photographs with all of the photographers in attendance. Everyone taking photographs are able to collect a minimum of three, edited photographs taken by each photographer. Photos are supposed to be delivered to the models via email. Prices can be negotiated by the clients and photographers for additional pictures. Photographs are supposed to be ready in four weeks from the date of the event.

Mr. Don is very strict about the photograph policy as well as some other house rules. All clients attending Shootathon MUST fill out a written contract/model release form before any photos are provided to clients. A working email address must also be made available to the Shootathon staff for important communication updates as well as general information. He put the rules in place to ensure that everyone not only has a good time, but to ensure that Shootathon is a rewarding experience for everyone who attends.

If you are on Facebook, visit the Shootathon webpage for more information about Shootathon.

Raw vs Jpeg

ood evening everyone and welcome to another edition of “Taking Photos”. Tonight we’re going to look at Raw files and Jpeg files. People often ask me what the differences are between Jpeg files, and Raw files. Let’s start with Jpeg files. Jpeg stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. The compression algorithm is lossy, meaning some image quality is lost during the compression process. (*1)

“JPG files, also known as JPEGs, are a common file format used primarily for digital photographs and other complex still images. JPG is pronounced "jay-peg" and stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the committee that created the file type. JPG files have the file extension .jpg or .jpeg and are, in fact also called JPEGs. They are the most common file type for images taken with digital cameras and are widely used for photos and other graphics used on websites. When JPG files are saved, they use a "lossy" compression, meaning that image quality is lost as file size decreases. When web designers put together a web page that contains photographs, they choose the level of compression for a JPG file: the more compression, the faster the image loads and the better the user's experience with the page — but as the compression increases, image quality is lost.” (*2) In layman’s terms, the image that you are left with after image processing techniques have been used either by you, or the computer. There will be resolution loss of some kind. If you compare the jpeg file to the original Raw file, you will notice that the Raw file can be 2 to 6 times larger than the Jpeg file. Depending on the camera make and model, the files can even be larger than that.

“A raw file is a collection of unprocessed data. This means the file has not been altered, compressed, or manipulated in any way by the computer. Raw files are often used as data files by software programs that load and process the data. A popular type of raw file is "Camera RAW," which is generated by a digital camera. Instead of processing the image captured by the camera, the data is left unprocessed and uncompressed until it is opened with a computer program.” (*1) In layman’s terms, Raw files are the original, unedited images that will give you the highest resolution. Raw files enable you to make the necessary corrections that will give you the best looking photo after digital processing. If you are shooting Raw files, you will want to shoot with a large memory card. A large memory card will enable you to store lots of images, including lots of Jpeg-Raw images. When I am talking to my students, I also like to describe Raw files as “untouched negatives” similar to unprocessed film if you needed something to visualize. For Raw files you will need a software program capable of opening the Raw files, and capable of making the necessary corrections to make the photo look good. When I am talking about a good looking photo, the exposure is not too bright, and not too dark. The color tones are in sync. The colors are not too saturated or washed out. There is no digital noise present in the photo. (Digital noise is the graininess, or very subtle dots/specs that you see in the image. Be aware that some people do not mind digital noise. It is also a corrective feature in Photoshop)

A Raw file usually ranges between 17 and 25 megabytes. Raw files are so large in resolution that you usually cannot share more than two or three of them in an email. You will also need a program like Lightroom to edit the files. If you purchase a digital camera capable of taking Raw images, the manufacturer usually includes a software program capable of editing Raw files. You can also use Photoshop to edit Raw files. If you’re thinking that working with Raw files requires too much work, get that thought out of your head. One of the benefits of working wit Raw files is having more control over what your images look like. If you want to take things a little slower and are not yet ready to completely commit to shooting Raw files, camera manufacturers allow you to shoot Jpeg and Raw files simultaneously. The setting on your camera should be found in the image quality section. You will select “Jpeg-Raw”. When you look at both images together, you will notice that the Raw images are two to three times larger than the Jpeg images. What you are looking at in the Jpeg file is the way the image looks after the computer in the camera decides what the image should look like. One of the drawbacks to this is not being able to make too many adjustments. However, with the Raw images, you have complete control over the adjustments. If you’re new to editing Raw images using Jpeg-Raw files will also provide you with an opportunity to see how the computer thinks the image(s) should look, and you can edit your images similar to these. You will have more resolution in your images, and you will also have more options for editing your images. I personally use Lightroom when I’m editing my Raw files. The key to editing Raw images is to practice, practice, practice. When I first started attending ICP, they were using Lightroom. I was already using Lightroom prior to attending ICP. I learned about several additional features that enabled me to work faster on my computer. After working with multiple images every week, this enabled me to edit my images even faster. After a while, editing Raw images became very easy. I also enjoyed it.

Editing my own images is very important to me since I was the person taking them. There are image editing companies that will do all the editing work for you allowing you to do what you love, taking pictures. I highly recommend sending out your photos for editing if you do not have the time, nor the desire to edit your photos. Editing photos can take several hours so you may want to consider finding someone else to edit them for you. I recently took some photos of my colleague’s daughter. I photographed her using Jpeg-Raw. The file that I decided to use was file number 1262.

In its Raw state, the file has 19.6 megabytes, in its Jpeg state it has 6.1 megabytes. If you were looking at the size of each file, the Raw image is a little over 3x the size as the Jpeg image. Ironically after the Raw file has been edited in Lightroom and converted to Jpeg, it still measures 11.7 megabytes. This image was converted from a Raw file to a Jpeg. Even though it has been reduced in size, it is still a large file.

So, in summarizing everything that we learned about Raw and Jpeg files today: • Don’t be afraid to shoot in Raw • If you are concerned about not editing Raw files correctly, shoot Jpeg-Raw • Raw files are very large files so you may want to purchase a memory card of 16gb or more. • Raw files need the appropriate software fro editing such as Lightroom • Jpeg files are compressed so they will lose some resolution • Raw files provide you with more options to edit your photos (*1) Tech Terms found on Google (*2) About Money-http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/Definitions/g/Jpg-Files.htm

No Limits 1st Post

Good evening everyone, and welcome to a very special edition of "Taking Photographs". I am pleased to announce that my latest project; “No Limits” is moving forward. We are going to have our first fundraiser fashion show in October. (The show will take place on the second or third weekend, we are awaiting confirmation from the venue) As soon as we receive confirmation about the exact date, tickets will go on sale. At this time we anticipate tickets costing $25 each. There is a parking lot available offering discounted parking. (3 hours for $6) Proceeds collected from the show will be put toward funding for No Limits and Project Hype. If you would like to purchase a ticket for the show, but are unable to attend the show, we have a list of people who would like to attend the show, but are unable to purchase a ticket. I am also asking anyone looking to help us who might not be able to purchase a ticket to donate $5. We are taking all of our collected proceeds and purchasing the following: • Computers • Media equipment including DSLR cameras and video cameras • Software including full versions of Lightroom and Photoshop • Awards, trophies and plaques for our students who have achieved academic and competitive success in sports, chess, skills competitions and academic competitions • On PARR (Positive Attitude Respect Responsibility) Performance parties for students whose achievements and character go beyond our expectations • Education and mentoring trips • Large screen smart televisions to assist classroom teachers with lesson plans and other learning projects and activities I recently purchased a 32 inch Westinghouse television to assist me in the classrooms. The reason why I purchased this television was to utilize my I-phone and I-pad to present my curriculum to the different classes that I’m working with. Using this type of equipment in the classroom makes it easier for me to teach math, and other lessons as well. I am also capable of showing different videos ranging from introduction to chess for beginners, through training and tactics for my more experienced players. I was recently speaking to one of my colleagues who substitutes at our school on a regular basis. She saw my recent setup and commented favorably about it. “I wish that I could take a television in my classroom to help me teach my students. I just don’t have any where to keep it.” I want to limit small problems facing teachers who want to help children. When we purchase enough televisions to compensate all of the classrooms that need them, we will create a system that will allow us to simply “roll” a television into a room with the appropriate connections to teach. Signing out a television screen to teach is not a new concept, however, it will be a new concept at our school. We are continuing our fight against limited resources in our school by doing more with less. Unfortunately, this is a very familiar slogan that has been used in too many organizations. However, if I can collect the financial resources capable of helping our students, I will have done my job. One of my plans is to constantly provide updates about our school’s progress. Our plan is to constantly update our social media websites via our media program. We have created our Facebook and Twitter pages, and we are planning to launch our YouTube channel very soon. We can constantly provide constant updates on everything that is going around in, and around our school. Simultaneously, we will introduce our students to the fields of photography, videography and journalism. Our students will become news reporters and journalists. They will act as the eyes and ears for special events and information about our school. At this time I want to say thank you to all of the people who have made a donation, volunteered their time or both over the last several years. For those of you who have recently contributed to our cause, or are about to, thank you as well! I will be frequently making announcements on my blogs to keep you informed about what’s going on with our programs. If you want to do something right now, you can donate $5 towards our program. (If you would like to donate more, that’s fine also!) You can make a payment through PayPal, check, money order or credit card. If you would like to donate $5 in cash, wait until you see me in person. For everyone else, payments can be mailed to: Darryl C. Madison 229-19 Merrick Blvd #301 Laurelton NY 11413. If you have any comments, questions or concerns about anything that you have read so far, please feel free to reach out to me via cell phone, (646-294-1936) or via email at Madisonspics@yahoo.com At this time I wanted to answer some of the questions that you might have at this time: 1. Why don’t you use “Kickstarter”, or “Go Fund Me”? If we start a campaign with any agencies with an established goal, we would have to wait until the goal is met before we can accomplish anything. It is much easier to ask for support and utilize whatever we collect right now. There are “No Limits” on anything that we could do right now. (Please excuse the shameless plug for “No Limits”) 2. Are you a non-for profit organization? We are currently exploring other avenues of turning our “for-profit” into a “non-for-profit”. As you are reading this post, a meeting took place earlier today bringing us one step closer to turning our program into a non-for-profit entity that will work with students in the South East Queens and Long Island communities. 3. How will proceeds be tracked? Every single penny collected for “No Limits” will be recorded via two ways, manually through a ledger, and electronically through computer software for finances. There will be a constant checks and balances system implemented to keep the most accurate records possible. 4. What if someone wants to work with your organization? Volunteers are always welcome to assist us with our future projects. There will be times where we might have transportation issues, a need for a case of water, etc. We will put out a public request soliciting help via social media, blog posts and emails. 5. Do you work with other organizations? Yes, we work with other organizations. As you are reading this post, we are currently working with the following organizations: • Project Hype • The “You Can Go to College” committee • Jamaica Hospital • The Jamaica Performing Arts Center • The Courtsmen As time goes on, we will be working with many other organizations that have similar, or the same goals as us. The desire to help our students become productive members of society is just one of our goals. No Limits is an organization that not only helps its students, but it also enables these same students to help others who are less fortunate than themselves. This goal is a priority to our organization and it is one of the goals that must always remain paramount in our minds, and in our hearts. Thank you again!

What Camera Shoud I Buy?

The question that I often get asked the most is “What is a good camera to buy?” I always say that most digital cameras on the market today are pretty good. You have so many different manufacturers and models to choose from that it’s almost hard to differentiate between companies. Now keep in mind I did say “almost”. The differences will begin when you start to look for all of the bells and whistles. Canon and Nikon are the two biggest manufacturers, however there are several other manufacturers who make great cameras as well. For instance, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, Fuji, Hasselblad and more.

Canon cameras are my primary camera bodies, but my point and shoot camera bodies are from Sony. I originally chose Canon for two reasons. First, Canon was the official camera of the NFL. Second, I didn’t like the reversed positive and negative bracket on the display panel. Other than these two factors you will learn that both companies produce great cameras. The argument about which camera takes better pictures is as old as the companies themselves. As some of you know I’m a Teacher’s Assistant at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in Manhattan. I studied under Professor Robert Meyer. He is a great teacher, and basically the only professor that I work with. The other professors in the school are very good, but I studied under Professor Meyer for 18 consecutive months. This strategy enabling me to develop the skills that I have now in lighting and posing. I assist him with his lighting courses, and his introductory courses in photography. When I teach his introductory classes he gives me all of the Canon students in the class. He shoots with Nikon. When it comes down to the basics of a digital camera, you want a digital camera that has at least 8 megapixels, easy to use, doesn’t require a lot of maintenance and has a good customer support system. The average person is looking for a camera that is convenient to carry, takes good pictures, and can make prints in 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 sizes. If you are looking to go to the next level, then you will want to purchase a digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR). 

If you are looking to control lighting, color temperatures, focus, and more, then a DSLR is probably what you are looking for. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to purchase one either. Plenty of photographer enthusiasts use them everyday. There are a lot of people who believe that the more money that you spend on a camera body, the better your pictures will come out. It’s true that there are different levels of camera bodies (Beginner, Intermediate and Professional) for each brand, but more important than the camera body is the lens that is attached to it. In the photography world, photography lenses are also known as “good glass”. Lenses can be very expensive. In a lot of instances, a camera lens can cost more than the camera body itself. A good camera lens can start at $2,000 and go all the way up to over $13,000. What you are paying for is the excellent picture quality that these lenses offer. If you want to see, or handle such a lens, you have several stores in New York City that you can shop at to get more information. B&H Photo is one of the most popular photography stores in the city. Tourists from other countries who are into photography make B&H Photo a mandatory stop while on vacation. B&H Photo is located at 420 9th Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets.

Another popular camera store in the city is Adorama Photo. Adorama Photo is located at 42 West 18th Street. They are not as big as B & H Photo, but they do offer a large variety of camera supplies. In addition they specialize in photo prints and photo albums. If you don’t wish to handle the photography equipment personally, you can also go online and view their products.  If you decide to venture into photography as a potential career, one of the things that people find out very quickly is how expensive all of the equipment and accessories are. You need camera bodies, external flashes, memory cards, lenses, batteries and more. When selecting a camera system (This is a specific camera manufacturer and all of the accessories that are sold for the camera body that you purchased) for your career, it is definitely a good idea to visit a camera store and test the equipment.

It is an unwritten rule that once you purchase a camera system, you don’t change that system unless something extreme happens. This can include hating the system that you just purchased, you inherit a system from someone else, or you win a system in a camera contest giveaway. The reason behind not investing in a second camera system is that it simply costs too much. So that you don’t waste your time and money, do extensive research first. After you do your research, establish a budget on how much you’re looking to spend altogether. It usually makes sense to buy a camera that comes with a lens. I always tell my students to purchase an extra camera battery, and extra memory cards. You will need something to carry your equipment in. If your looking for some of the best security to protect your investment in, look no further than a Pelican case. Pelican cases are part of the industry standard and do very well when you are traveling by plane. If you want to invest in a DSLR system but can’t afford one right now, another option is a good point and shoot camera. A point and shoot camera is also called a compact camera, is a still camera designed primarily for simple operation. Most use focus free lenses or autofocus for focusing, automatic systems for setting the exposure options, and have flash units built in for point and-shoots are by far the best selling type of separate camera, as distinct from camera phones. They are popular with people who do not consider themselves photographers but want easy-to-use cameras for snapshots of vacations, parties, reunions and other events. (*1) I shoot with Canon as my primary camera bodies but every now and then it’s not feasible to shoot with a DSLR. If I am attending an event and not working it, I don’t want to carry a DSLR and all of the gear that’s associated with it. A compact point and shoot camera will do just fine. My very first digital camera was a Sony Cybershot. It was a 1.3 megapixel camera that cost $999 at the time. It was state of the art at the time. Today, Sony created the RX 100 Series. It has all of the bells and whistles of a DSLR packaged in the small, convenient body of a standard point and shoot camera.

This camera has exceptional shooting capabilities especially in low light conditions. It has a built in menu that performs advanced operations directly in the camera. You can change color photos to black and white, add special effects, and shoot RAW images. (In the next edition of Taking Photos we will take a closer look at RAW photography) I purchased this camera to take pictures inconspicuously because when you are taking pictures with a DSLR, people assume that you are a professional photographer, or paparazzi, or both. This is a very good point and shoot camera that has a great body, (The body is made of metal) a great lens (It has a Carl Zeiss lens) and an excellent price ($899) for everything that it does. One day I was in Bloomingdales Department store on 59th Street. Elizabeth Hurley was launching a new product. I wanted to get one photo to use for the newspaper. People were pulling out their cell phones, and point and shoot cameras to take photos. As I went into my bag to set up my camera, one of the managers of the store said that Bloomingdales has a photographer and I couldn’t take photos. I tried to tell the staff what I was doing there but they didn’t want to hear it. If I would’ve had a point and shoot camera instead of my DSLR it wouldn’t have been an issue. I slowly put my DSLR camera back into my camera bag and I was complaining under my breath. I could’ve been in and out of the store with the picture that I needed if I hadn’t been interrupted. I knew right then and there that I was going to need the perfect point and shoot camera with low light capabilities to capture celebrities and other VIP’s. I immediately went to B&H Photo, spoke to a colleague about a camera fitting my criteria, and purchased it. I hope that the information that I provided to you this evening will help you purchase your next digital camera. I can’t stress enough how important it is to really do your research, ask plenty of questions, know what your budget is and try to get to one of the aforementioned camera stores to test out the equipment. If you still have any questions about what camera to buy, rest assured that the staff at B&H Photo, as well as Adorama Photo really know their stuff, and they are more than happy to help you buy a camera. Until next time, thank you again for taking time out of your schedule to read my blog! (*1) Wikipedia website via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-and-shoot_camera

Can I take photos while the sun is out?

New York City is filled with a lot of attractions, The Empire State Building, Yankee Stadium and Coney Island to name a few. One of the most overlooked locations is Fulton State Park. Fulton State Park is located in the heart of DUMBO.

This park has one of the most beautiful views of the (Hudson/East River), as well as the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. There is a carousel for kids of all ages, tables and chairs for outdoor enjoyment, a dog park, rock climbing and a hospitality center equipped with restrooms. The location is very popular amongst photographers. If you are in need of a location with multiple scenarios, look no further.

I have used this location for many outdoor shoots because it is conveniently located via the "A or C" trains to High Street, or the "F" train to York Street. If you walk to the corners of Water Street and Adams Street, you will find yourself at the underpass of the Manhattan Bridge. It is a perfect location to meet your colleagues and guests. There are plenty of benches for sitting. There is even the "Lighthouse", a beverage stand that sells beer and wine. Every third Saturday of the month you can enjoy a free, live DJ party. Different DJ's are invited to spin records to the delight of people passing through. (April through October) If you want to do a photo shoot at DUMBO, keep in mind that you can take photographs at this location rain or shine. The underpass protects you from the elements. One of the things that you have to be cognizant of are the hundreds of tourists that visit this location everyday. It is not uncommon to see a bride and groom walk by, groups of artists, and visitors from all over the world taking photographs. Today we are going to examine some problems that might arise during your outside shoot. In the summertime, especially at the beach, you know that the midday sun can sometimes wreck havoc on your photos, especially if you are using your cell phones. The sun is usually positioned directly above your heads for several hours. One of the biggest problems is the shadows that are cast by the sun. You can get unwanted, unattractive dark circles under your eyes.

The photographer seen here is taking photos of his clients. He realizes that the suns rays are causing shadows under their eyes. he immediately tells his assistant to provide him with his external flash. He re-takes the photos using an external flash and he solves his problem.

In order to take the best picture, you may want to add additional light via the external flash, or built in flash on your camera or cell phone. If you're using a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, the external flash will over power the shadows on your subject. You will want to use a diffuser (A filter that is placed over the flash to soften the light that falls onto your subject) to make your subject look better.

Here is an example of Tia without the use of a flash.

Here is Tia with the use of a flash.

In the first photo you notice that the hat that LaShondra is wearing is causing shadows to her face.

When we add the flash, the shadows are replaced with the available light emitted from the flash. If you are a fan of natural light and you really don't like to use flash in your pictures, there are other options for you to use. An umbrella on the beach is usually reserved for that perfect spot at the beach when you arrive very early in the morning. In this case we are going to use the umbrella to protect Teshe & Aisha from the sun.

We are going to start off with some simple head shots. When we adjust our shutter speed, aperture, ISO and white balance settings accordingly, we can get a better photograph of our model. What if you want to get a full body photo of your subject? In this case we want to use our umbrella to block the sunlight that is falling directly onto our model.

We will still produce enough natural light to produce a better photograph, but if we're looking for something with more lighting, add a separate light. If you are not talking on your cell phone, you can bring up the "flashlight app" on your phone and use this light to illuminate your subject.

As a quick side note, if you're shooting in a very dim lit area (Night club, wedding reception that resembles a club or 2am outside of any club) and you are having trouble with your focusing beam on your camera, use your same flashlight app to light your subject. This light will provide more than enough illumination to have the focusing beam accurately track your subject for a clearer, better photograph.

Why We Need Good Photographers

In this day and age almost everyone has a cell phone. The latest phones by Samsung, I-phone, LG, Google and all of the other companies can do some pretty amazing things. Not to mention all of the apps that are out there as well. Recently, someone asked me the following question; “Do you think that cell phones will eliminate the need for professional photographers?” Without hesitation I answered; “No”. You can already guess what the follow up question was; “Why not?” Great question. To find out about the rest of my answer, visit my blog at http://metphotographytakingphotographs.blogspot.com

First things first. A good, knowledgeable photographer is priceless. When you are hiring a photographer to take pictures at an event, family portraits, etc., it is usually an event of great significance. For example, a wedding, a milestone birthday, a sporting event, etc. There is usually a lot of time and money spent on these events. What would happen if you didn’t have any photographs of the event? There are literally dozens of things that can go wrong at an event. Just try not to increase those odds by not taking the appropriate steps to secure a photographer.

Michael Lay, a professional photographer once said to me, “Darryl, the client(s) won’t remember what the food tasted like. They won’t remember what the place smelled like, but they will remember the photography.” You can look at your pictures over and over again once they’re taken. Once you leave the catering hall, facility, or wherever the venue was being held, that’s it! Yes, one will argue that the people in attendance will take photographs of the event and post them onto social media. However, were the photos the best photos taken at the event any good? Did someone get photographed with food in their mouth? Or their eyes closed? Or when they took that very nasty spill onto the floor? Are these the lasting memories that you were considering when you first planned your event?

For better or worse, I want you to think about the last few events that you attended. Can you remember the photos that someone captured on their cell phone or tablet? Were the photos blurry? Were the photos too dark? Did anyone or everyone blink? Let’s just say every photo that was taken during the event came out perfect. Did the person taking the photos send all of the photos to you? Did you have to wait a very long time to receive the photos? Did the person who was delegated to take the photos enjoy the event that they attended since they had to take the photographs? Did they capture all of the important moments?

Unfortunately, you don’t think about these things until the event is over. Countless times I have heard; “I wish that I would have hired you!” or “I wish that I would have hired a professional photographer.” It has gotten to the point where I do perform “Re-shoots”. There have been people wo have hired me to re-enact some of their most important life events (Weddings) because they could not get any decent photographs from their family and friends. Another phenomenon that is more and more common is not having enough storage, or battery power to take photos at an event. If you are attending an event in the evening and you have been on your cell phone most of the day, you probably don’t have a lot of battery power left. Even if you carry an extra battery supply, or you have your charger with you, you may be charging your device when that “can’t miss” moment takes place. You missed the moment because your equipment was in the charger. Or your memory card was full. Or you have no more storage on your device. Or, a combination of all of the above.

This is just a handful of “life occurrences” that I have witnessed over the last few years. One recent wedding trend called for all of the guests to use the disposable cameras on their tables to record the event. Candid shots, group shots, etc. This trend had several problems that included, but were not limited to the following: • The person at the table taking shots could not operate the camera properly. • The person at the table didn’t want the responsibility of taking photos at the event. “I’m not a photographer, I am a guest!!” • The disposable cameras were only equipped to take 24 exposures. The pictures were finished in 30 minutes. There were no more cameras to take the rest of the important moments at the event. • People took the cameras home, never to be seen again. • How are you getting the cameras back to the host and hostess? How were they carrying all of these cameras with everything else that they had to carry in the first place? Let me say first and foremost that I am not bashing “Do It Yourselfer’s”, I am simply reminding you that if you spend $26,000+ dollars on a wedding, or hundreds of dollars on a very important event in your life, why would you leave out/cut back on one of the most important parts of the event, the memories? (If you Google “Average cost of a wedding, that’s where the $26,000+ came from) There are some things that you can cut back costs on, life time memories just shouldn’t be one of them!

Consider the cost of not having the memories from a once in a lifetime event. If you have honestly had the following thought in your head; “I wish that I had some professional pictures taken”; or “Why didn’t I hire a photographer to photograph the event?”; then next time, don’t spend too much time second guessing yourself. You have enough things to worry about making sure that your once in a lifetime event is just that, a once in a lifetime event. Go hire a professional photographer and put your mind to ease! Until next time, have a great evening!

Green Screen Photography

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to “Taking Photographs.” Today we are going to take a look at "Green Screen photography". Green screen photography has many different uses. One of the most common uses is seen through news broadcasts. When you are watching the weather, or a news article that has different backgrounds, the backgrounds are usually created through the use of green screen technology. The main purpose of green screen is to change the background(s)

for the photos and videos that you are working with. Changing the background in a photograph is nothing new. Depending on the situation, changing the background can do lots of different things for the photograph. Today I will demonstrate the use of green screen technology and how it can enhance your own photographs. In the last few weeks I have taken several photographs with different models using green screen. I liked the photos but I didn’t like the plain, boring green background. When you change the background, the photograph comes to life.

In order to make green screen work, you will need the following items: • Good lighting • A green screen software program (This is the program that will remove the photograph from the green screen background and place it on the new background of your choosing) • A green screen backdrop (or a chroma blue backdrop) • A Photoshop software program In order to have a good photograph, you have to have good lighting. (We already know this so what does this have to do with green screen photography?) If you don’t have good lighting, your photos will come out dark. If your photos come out too dark, you could end up with unwanted shadows, or digital noise. Remember, if you are looking for a specific look to enhance your photograph, you must have good lighting.

A good green screen also program is needed if you intend on swapping out your boring, green screen images. Westcott makes a good software program that will help you learn all about green screen. FXhome PhotoKey is also a good software program to use.

You will also need a green screen backdrop cloth, or a green screen collapsible background, or green screen paper to help you get started. If you look at the third bullet, I wrote “chroma blue. Chroma blue is similar in color to “Dodger blue”. This color has the same effect as a regular green screen background. If you are shooting models, please remind them that some of their outfits will literally disappear from the photograph. (Please don’t confuse this with X-ray vision) The clothing as well as the body parts will disappear from the screen. The last thing that you will need is Photoshop. You can use either the latest version, or an earlier version. You can also use Photoshop Elements, also known as the “baby brother” of the larger programs. When you are taking photographs, sometimes a wrinkle will pop up in the green screen cloth. This wrinkle will also show up in your new background and photograph that you are working on. To fix this, perform the following steps: 1. Open Photoshop on your computer 2. Select the “Eyedropper” tool 3. Use the eyedropper to select a portion of the green background from the original photo. 4. Open up the “Brush” tool 5. Go to “Layer” and click “Duplicate Layer” 6. Go back to the Brush tool and select a brush that you would like to work with. (Use the brush tool slider to increase/decrease the size of the brush that you are working with) 7. Paint the area of the photo that has the wrinkles in in. (Photoshop tip: If you zoom in on the photo that you are painting, it will be easier to paint. If you are going to be working with green screen a lot, invest in a Wacom Tablet, A Wacom Pen, or if you are using the I-pad Pro, the I-pad Pencil. These items will make your green screen life last a lot longer!) 8. Save the image by renaming the image. (Make an additional copy or two just in case you want to use the same image with another background) 9. Open up your green screen software program. (Time saver: Take a copy of the image that you finished painting and the background and place them in the same folder) 10. Export your image to the folder that you are working with.

This is a basic introductory step by step green screen process that I teach to my students. When you get a chance, take some green screen photos and practice creating some masterpieces. Thank you for once again taking the time to read my latest blog. Stay tuned as we tackle another issue next week that will hopefully help you take better photographs. Until next time, keep taking great photos!